Key to Our Hearts
by Azurerin
Summary: Titled previously as Single Key of Two Hearts. HerSide: Her transfer to Inaba, the only transfer she's very grateful of. She'd found out the truth of the case, true friends and also, the only person whom she'd been waiting for in her life. But she didn't have the slightest idea of what he's up to now.
1. His Side, Part 1

Notes: First of all, thank you for everyone who've supported me until now. As I've said so in my profile (if there's anyone who've checked it out), the idea for this story suddenly struck my head when I'm working on with my lab assignments and reports. I think the idea itself is quite nice, and it resulted in a very high spirit of mine to write the story. This story is about Souji x Naoto. At first, I was confused about making this story as a one-shot or a multi-chapter, and looks like it'll be multi-chapter. Don't worry, it won't be that long. I guess it'll be around 3-4 chapters… And about my editor-friend, it seems like she's more interested in editing my other story, and she's quite busy at the moment, so she's not working on this one. I'll try my best to keep the characters away from OOC-ness and here goes:

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Disclaimer: All the characters that happen to be in this story are solely Atlus', I only own the idea…

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~Single Key of Two Hearts~

~His Side, Part 1~

_I've never imagined that I'll break the promise I've made to myself… Just about a year ago, I still think that I should keep a good distance from everyone else, since we'll part one day because of my parent's job and my transfer… Even now, I know it's still inevitable… Even after they changed my way of thinking, or more specifically, __**her**__…_

Souji is taking his steps at the shopping district. He turned his head, giving a glance to the stores there, whilst thinking, "_What I should I get for her? She wouldn't want anything that looked expensive, and I wanted it to be meaningful for both of us… What should I get…?"_ Souji tried to think of some possible items he might wanted to give to his girlfriend. They've been going out together for about a couple of months and an important day for both of them is yet about to come in just a week's time.

Then, he stopped, in front of a store, on the store's sign board, was written : "Shiroku Store", his lips formed a little grin, since the store oftenly has unique items in stock. He stepped in and started to look around.

Near the cashier desk, he saw medicines, ointments, antibiotic gels, macca leaf and medical kits. He walked passed them after saying "Good afternoon" to the owner. The owner smiled and asked him if he's looking for something today, Souji answered the old lady politely by saying that he's just looking around. He couldn't possibly said that he's looking for a gift for a girl, since the owner will pick something which isn't really the item he's really been looking for and will be unable say no to the old lady.

On the shelf, he saw the daily needs items, mouthwashes, dokudami tea, stimulant, royal jellies and amrita sodas. Even though he usually stopped by the section, he just walked through them, since he's not in one of his shopping errand today. He walked further into the corridor, to the next shelves of items. On this small shelf at the corner, he saw various unusual items which, he sometimes, bought. There's Goho-Ms, Hiranyas, and revival beads. He searches thoroughly for an item which might caught his interest. Then, his gray-colored eyes caught a glimpse of a small silver-colored box, which has remained hidden amongst the other items, but he can make out the small letters at the side of the box. A lamp lit on his mind, while his lips create a soft smile to himself as he took the silver box and head to the cashier desk.

After he bought the item which he's been looking for, our hero returned back home.

* * *

Dojima Residence

Evening

* * *

"I'm home."

"Welcome back, big bro!!" Nanako greets her big bro cheerfully. Seeing the paper bag which is held in her big bro's arm, she asked, "Are you going shopping today?"

"Uh… Not really though…" When saying so, he can feel that his cheeks blushed slightly.

"Huh? Why're your cheeks reddened?" Nanako asked, after tilting her head slightly due to her confusion.

"Uh… No, it's nothing, really…"

"Oh, yeah, there's a letter for you in the mailbox this morning". She said, while handing out an envelope to her beloved big bro.

"Thanks, Nanako…" He took the letter and put it in his pocket. "What're you watching, Nanako?"

"Oh, I'm waiting for my favorite show right now. And- Hey! It's Junes!"

Nanako ran towards the television and sang her favorite Junes theme. Souji smiled when he saw his "little sister", who's in grave danger last month, now looked so happy while singing the Junes' Theme. He sat beside her and spends some time with her by watching her favorite quiz show together. Several moments later, Dojima comes home, Nanako greeted him happily while Dojima gave his beloved daughter a hug and later sat down with them and watched the TV show together.

_Even though I've broken my own promise, I've never felt this happy and delighted before. I've never even imagined that I'll feel this kind of …family warmth last year, since my parents are always busy with their jobs, and now… I've found my family here… in Inaba…_

_

* * *

  
_

After putting Nanako to bed and saying goodnight to Dojima, the big bro made his way upstairs, to his own room. He placed the silver box which he has just bought this afternoon on his working table. Then he drew the envelope from his pocket and read it while sitting comfortably on the couch. When reading it, his expression changed, at first he looked startled, but then, he smiled, folding the letter and put it back into the envelope, then placed it on his study desk.

"I'll try asking them if they got this too, tomorrow…"

The grey sphere in his eyes moved slightly to take a glance around the room, and then they stopped at the sight of the silver box. He walked in silently, then sat in front of his working table and opened the box. He read the paper he found inside the box for a while, his grey irises moved from left to right in a steady rhythm. His hands picked some items from the box and trying to work on the materials, which is now being lined up on the working table in front of him. But after an hour of attempt, Souji sighed.

"Maybe I **do **really need his help on this matter… I guess I'll try asking him too, tomorrow…"

Feeling there's nothing more that could be done, he suddenly sensed the fatigue of his activity for the whole day, and decided to go to bed. Soon after his body meets the futon, his mind has entered the realm of the dream world.

* * *

The next day...

Yasogami High School, class 2-2

Morning

* * *

"_I... I guess I'm having a dream last night… What is it?? I think I saw a… key? The key has a unique design, and it doesn't look like any normal key… It's silver in color, and it's got a small navy blue jewel adorning it in the middle… And I think… I saw… __**her**__… In my dream, she smiled, so gently and sweetly… Even though in reality, the chance of having her smiled like that is… very slim indeed…And… Samegawa river—"_

"Hmmm… I'd like to pick… Mr. Souji Seta!"

"Huh? Oh!"

Souji was startled and have just realized that he's been daydreaming during the lesson, but he managed to look calm as always. The transfer student quickly gets on his feet and stand up beside his seat, looked ready for the question which will be given to him soon.

"Okay, what's the name of the Japanese God who's said to be the founder of Japan itself?" asked the history teacher, Ms. Sofue while pointing her dowsing rod to the transfer student.

"It's called Izanagi" Souji answered swiftly, and as always, his answer is correct.

"Hmm… Very good indeed, Mr. Seta… It seems that you're paying attention, I thought I saw you daydreaming in the class."

"Heh! She asked the wrong guy for that question, of course he knows, it's his own persona—"

"I heard you Mr. Hanamura! Pop Quiz! What're the names of the Gods which were born when Izanagi washed his face?"

"Huh? Hey! That's not fair! How should I know about that? Souji! Help me out here!"

Souji sighed, but then smiled a little when he saw Yosuke's pleading face. "It's Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susano-o."

"Good! It's correct! But please don't ask Mr. Seta for the answers next time! You two may sit down."

*Souji and Yosuke returned to their seat and sat down*

Yosuke whispered, "Thanks partner! You really saved me this time!"

"No problem, but do pay attention next time…"

"Hey, Yosuke, one of it is the name of your persona, right? You didn't know?" said a voice from Souji's right side.

"Uh, well, I'm not really into history or anything…"

"But wow, my persona's name is there too, I was shocked when I saw her name in the textbook last night." said a black-haired girl in front of Chie.

"What? So you've been studying the materials last night, Yukiko-san?" the brunette asked in awe. In response, the black-haired girl just nodded silently, which caused the brunette to shook his head.

The leader, remembering that he had something that he wished to ask his friends, opened his mouth, "Oh, yeah, I have something I'd wanted to ask you all, can we all meet on the rooftop in lunchtime? We'll ask Kanji and Rise too…

"Hmm? Sure thing partner!"

"Okay! I'll go and tell Kanji-kun and Rise-chan later!"

"Hmm… A name is absent there… I think I get the idea of what you would've wanted to talk about…" said the girl with a red headband.

The grey-haired boy's cheek blushes slightly, and then he nods. "Okay, it's decided, it'll be lunchtime then…"

After they've decided on the meeting, the leader sat still, looking forward as if he's paying attention to the lesson, but in fact, he's thinking about his dream again, and suddenly, a lamp lit in his mind. His lips formed a smile and now, waiting eagerly for the lunchtime to come.

* * *

Yasogami High School, Rooftop

Lunchtime

* * *

Souji and Yosuke are sitting by the balcony at the rooftop, enjoying their own lunch. Then, they heard the door's noise and soon, saw Chie and Yukiko coming in together with Kanji and Rise behind them.

"Okay! Everyone's here!" said Chie, as she puts her hands on her waist.

"Well, not everyone…" said Yukiko.

"But, hey! It's hard to sneak into the first-year's hallway without her knowing, since her class is the closest to the stairs. Luckily, she doesn't seem to be in her class when I went to picked Kanji-kun and Rise-chan…"

"Okay then, I'll go straight to the point." The leader puts his hands into his pocket and took out a letter from inside. "Did you all… receive this, too?"

Hearing the leader's question, the rest of them nodded in unison. Some of them even take out the same letter as his own, from their pockets.

"Oh, so everyone received it too…"

"What is it partner, are you hoping that you're the only one who've got that?" Yosuke grins when he said that.

"Wh-what?! No! Of course not!" The leader answered quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. He's starting to panic, but soon regained control of himself. But still, he couldn't hide the reddened color of his cheeks.

"You're blushing! You're so cute, senpai!" Rise giggled.

"Rise-san, stop that…"

"But, yeah, I wonder what I should get for her?" Yosuke tilted his head. "How about a Junes-brand items?"

"Hmm… I don't know what to get for her… And I don't have too much money to spare, too…" Chie frowned.

"That's because you've been using your allowance to buy DVDs and eat steaks, Chie."

"Yukiko! Don't go on and tell everyone about that!!" Chie shrieked when her little secret is blown up.

The rest of them were laughing while watching Chie's expression, Chie's cheeks blushed a little too, while Yukiko is in one of her laughing mode. The freshmen were watching the silly attitudes of their senpai with a fresh smile on their faces. While Yosuke just moaned, "She'll never change…" And quietly, the leader smiled heartily when he saw that his friends are having fun.

_This kind of cheery situation and atmosphere, I never actually believed that I'll feel it one day, until I've met them…The bond they've given me… The bond of friendship…_

_

* * *

  
_

*Ding-dong*

"Oh, the lunch break is over! C'mon, let's return to our own classes!" Yosuke hopped to the ground, heading towards the exit.

"See you next time, senpai!" Kanji said as he and Rise walked towards the door too.

"Kanji! Wait a second!"

"Huh? What is it, senpai?

"Kanji-kun, if we don't hurry, we'll be late for the next class!" The idol told him as she walked, passing him.

"_Hey… maybe Rise can help me out too, she knows about those things better than anyone here…"_

Just when the thought has passed through his head, the leader called for the idol. "Rise-san, wait a second! I need your help too!"

"Huh? What is it, senpai?"

"Umm… I wanted the two of you to help me to… *whisper* *whisper* *whisper*"

Both of the first-year students are closing in to their senpai, trying to hear out his request, Kanji nods firmly several times, while Rise is smiling and giggling, she looks like she's in a very high spirit.

"Huh? Sure, senpai… I do know the basic techniques, since I've made myself some, but did you have the materials ready, senpai? It's hard to look for that kind of item in Inaba..."

"Oooohh! I'll help you! I'll help you, too! Don't you worry, senpai! Risette's here!"

"Don't worry, Kanji, I've got the materials ready."

"But, senpai, when do you want to start?"

"Hmm… As soon as possible… How about, today, after school?"

Hearing their leader's suggestion and having nothing to do after school, the delinquent boy and the idol exchange looks for a second, and nod in unison.

"Thanks, both of you…" said the leader as he walked along with his underclassmen towards their own classes.

* * *

Yasogami High School

After School

* * *

"_Okay, I need to meet Kanji and Rise in front of their classes…I hope she doesn't see me…"_ The grey-haired boy started packing his books and stationary into his bag, and headed towards his underclassmen's class.

He's walking down the stairs, step by step, and finally reached the first floor hallway, where all of the first year's home room are lined up. The leader turned to his right from the main stairs, and headed towards his kouhai's homeroom. Just when he thought that **she**'s not around, a voice came from his back.

"Senpai!"

Souji turned his back, only to find her walking silently but swiftly towards him. She takes her steps lightly, almost noiseless when the tip her shoes meets the hallway floor. Reaching her destination, she stopped and stands still in right in front of her boyfriend.

"Hey, Naoto…" Souji smiled, but in the same time, he's panicking inside, still, he looked as calm as ever.

"Umm, Souji-san… Can you spare some time for me today? I… I'd like to go somewhere with you…" She stares at the hallway floor while asking the question, too shy to look at him in the eye.

Hearing his girlfriend's request, a dilemma suddenly struck Souji's mind. He will be more than happy to accompany the "Detective Prince", but at the same time he has something else which he must do, quickly. After making his decision, the leader sighed and produced his voice.

"I-I'm sorry Naoto, I have something I must take care of today, did you mind if I accompany you some other time? I'm really sorry…" As he said the words, he shook his head and his expression indeed shows that he's very sorry to say that.

The detective, after hearing her senpai's words, lifted her head and shook her head too. "Oh, no, no… It's okay… You don't need to apologize, I'm not forcing you or anything… Ummm, next time then!" After saying those words, the detective walked away while waving her hand and smiled softly. The leader, waved his hand back a her and saw her leaving by the school gate. He sighed, but then returned to the hallway and head to class 1-2 and 1-3.

In front of class 1-2, Kanji and Rise are already waiting for their senpai. When they catch a glimpse of their senpai, the idol waved her hands and said, "You're late, senpai!" The senpai walked into them whilst saying, "Sorry… She… saw me when I'm going to meet you guys…" Both of them gasped, and asked "So? How's it?" The leader just smiled, "It's fine, c'mon, we're running out of time."

The three of them walked out together from the school ground and headed to the leader's home. As they walked, they talked about various things, Rise's telling them about the incident in her class while Kanji and Souji listened to her. They smiled and laughed to each other as they listened to the stupid incident which occurred in the idol's class. But as they walked, they didn't realize that a pair of greyish-blue irises is fixed at them from afar.

-To be continued-

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**Author's Notes** : Umm… How's it? I tried to keep them as far as possible from the OOC zone, and I hope I succeeded. And I apologize if there's any grammatical or tenses error, or even the wrong choice of words. As usual, your opinions in the reviews will mean so much for me… So, please review… Thank you for everyone who've given some of their time to read this story!


	2. His Side, Part 2

Author's Note : As usual, I can't thank everyone enough for their supports… All of my friends, reviewers, and those who put this story in the favorite or alert lists… I'm on fire to finish this story! I hope you all enjoyed chapter 2…

Disclaimer : All SMT series along with the characters belonged to Atlus…

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~Single Key of Two Hearts~

~His Side, Part II~

It's been five days since the underclassmen make their trip to their senpai's home as a routine after school. And along those days, Souji was feeling both eager and sorry. He always feels bad whenever the detective showed up to see him to ask for his company, he can see that she's looking restless and a bit sad day by day as he turned down her request, even though she always said that it's fine. Sometimes, he felt that she was about to ask him something, but whenever the sleuth was about to open her mouth, she'll just shook her head and cancelled the speech. This triggered him to feel bad and a portion of regret. But he always tells himself that this is won't last any longer. _"Just hang in there, it'll be over in a couple of days. It's almost finished…"_

* * *

Dojima Residence

After School

* * *

"Senpai, don't ya think that ya better tell Naoto what you're up to now?"

"Huh? Why did you ask that all of a sudden, Kanji?" The leader narrowed his eyebrows while facing the bleached-haired boy. In front of him, a silver box stood still, and his hands are still busily working on with the materials.

"Uh, no, no reason actually, it's just that when I saw her today, and her face look… uh, how should I put it? Uh… sorrowful? Usually, her face doesn't really show too much of an expression, but lately, she looked all gloomy… Hey! Careful there, senpai!!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry!" The leader suddenly realized that he has loosened the grip of his hands, causing the silver-colored thing to slip off his hands. Fortunately, he caught the item before it hit the floor and continue on with the task. "I don't think I'll tell her, if I told her, all this effort will be useless…"

"You've got a point there, senpai. But I always feel sorry for Naoto-kun, whenever I saw her like that…" The idol frowned. "Anyways, I'm positive that this'll cheer her up! Too bad she didn't know what's coming to her! In my opinion, this is turning out great! I'm sure she'll love it! And on top of that, it's from senpai!" The pig-tailed girl giggles when she saw her senpai's face blushes a little. "I-I hope so…" was his only reply.

* * *

The grey-haired boy has been working on the materials from the silver box for five days. He diligently crafted the materials, with Kanji and Rise's help everyday after school, and on evening, he would continue on with the task. Even though, on one night Nanako ever asked her big brother about his routine night activity in his own room lately. The big bro only said that he's making something for someone special. He still remembers that in response, Nanako giggles and said, "It must be for Naoto-neesan!" The big bro finds himself smiling gently to his little sister as his reply. And at last, tomorrow, the big day will be there.

"Phew… Finished at last!" moaned the grey-haired boy, sitting in front of his work table in his own room. On the work table, stood still a silver box, and beside it, lay a silver-colored item. He took the item from the table and gazes it from various direction on his hand. Smiling gently, he looked pleased with the result of all his efforts. The boy stood and headed to his study desk. From the drawer, he drew a navy colored box, adorned with a silvery-white ribbon on top of it. He opened the box and put the silver colored item inside. Then he thought, _"All settled, which left me with only the biggest task of all… Handing this to her… tomorrow…"_ Feeling the need of energy for tomorrow, our hero rested himself on his futon and once again, entered the realm of the dream world.

* * *

Yasogami High School, class 2-2

After School

* * *

"_The day is finally here…"_ the transfer student's minds are hovering elsewhere while he packed his belongings into his school bag. He dreamt of something last night, but he couldn't seem to remember anything about it, yet on the other hand, he's pretty sure that he dreamt of something. The only thing about the dream which he could make out is that the dream is not a nightmare, he only had the feeling that it is… a very nice dream, even though he didn't remember anything about it. He kept thinking, until someone called out to him.

"Hey partner! We wouldn't be able make it if you're not pacing up!" The brunette calling out to him while he waited with the other two girls near the class' entrance. The door suddenly slide open, revealing two of his underclassmen behind it.

"C'mon, senpai! We've rushed here right after the class ended! We didn't have much time left!" and while saying so, Kanji tapped his right foot impatiently.

"Oh, okay! Sorry!" The leader have finished packing his belongings, but he take a last peek of the contents of his bag to make sure that the navy-colored box is still in it's place. Then he lifted his left hand and gives his watch a look. It's his favorite watch, which **she** gave to him as his Christmas present, since then, the watch spent it's time mostly around the leader's wrist. The watch displayed 14:05, and below it, the special function was displayed, Distance: 15 meters. _"Good, she's still in her class…"_ He took his bag and walked towards his friends, "Sorry for the wait, let's go!"

The team walked swiftly along the school hallway and made their way until the school lobby. The leader peeked to his watch, which read, Distance: 5 meters, but the number gradually reduced to 4, and then 3… Realizing the dangerous situation, the leader spoke swiftly. "Quick everyone, she's walking out of her class now!" The looks in the team member's face panicked, but realizing that there isn't any time to waste, the whole team ran as fast as their legs could let them and managed to get out of the school ground.

The team ran until they've reached the shopping district. The grey-haired teen checked his watch again, and informed everyone that they're safe now, since the watch displayed "out of range". They stopped a while to regain their breath, but suddenly, someone chuckled.

"Hey Yosuke, did you feel that all this running is giving you a deja-vu?" Chie said with a grin on her face. Yosuke tilted his head, "Hey, yeah, I think this thing ever happens to us, but, when is it..?" In response, Chie sighed, "What? You didn't remember? My legs are stiff for the next two days, so there's no way that I'll ever forget that!" Yosuke narrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember. Chie shook her head, then throws an obvious glance towards Kanji. Seeing the sign, Yosuke yelled, "Hell yeah! I remembered now! Kanji chased us at Samegawa and caused us to run around and around the gazebo! Man, how could I forget that?!" Kanji, who heard his name being mentioned, joined the discussion. "H-hey! That's because you all kept following me around for days!" The team's leader and the black-haired girl chuckles, reminiscing those days. _"Yeah, that's around the time we firstly met… On those days, I never thought we'll end up like…this…"_ The grey-haired teen shook his head, smiling, thinking that if he even considers their relationship to be like this on those days, then obviously, something inside him is very wrong, since everyone thought that she's a "he". The idol, who didn't fully understood about the topic, asked, "Huh? What're you all talking about?"

"Oh, yeah, Rise hasn't joined the team back then. It's just something that happens when we're trying to save Kanji. And for the reward of trying to do so, he chased us all over at Samegawa" explained the brunette, while throwing a glance to the topic's subject. Kanji, feeling referred, just keep telling them that it's all because they're acting weird, such as stalking him for days. The entire team smiled while reminiscing.

"By the way, Yosuke-kun, have you told Teddie about this?" The raven-haired girl asked.

Hearing the question, the brunette opened his mouth in awe. "Dang it! I totally forgot about that bear! I've told him about today, but I forgot to pick him! I guess I'll head to Junes first to pick that bear. You all can go on without me, I'll come after I picked him up." After saying so, the heir of Junes went off. "We're better off too, or else we wouldn't make it in time." Hearing the leader's words, the rest of the group nodded and continue on to their destination.

* * *

After walking for a while, the group finally reached their destination. They're in front of Naoto's home in Inaba. The group looked at the house with amazement on their faces, except for the leader, who often walked the detective home. The leader stepped forward, pressing the doorbell beside the wall of the door. Then, an intercom answered, "Shirogane Residence, may I help you?"

The grey-haired teen answered, "It's me, Souji, Seta Souji."

"Oh, Souji-san and the others isn't it? Fortunately Naoto-sama isn't home yet, I'll open the door for you all." replied the intercom who appears to be Yakushiji-san, Naoto's grandfather's secretary. Just a moment later, the door swung open, revealing the secretary and the elegant interior of the building. "Good afternoon everyone, please come in." greeted the secretary. The group stepped in, and are amazed by the interior of the building, this time, everyone are amazed, even the leader, since this is the first time he entered her house, usually he'll just walk her until the front of the building.

"Wh-whoa… This place is huge!" exclaimed Chie.

"Th-this is like our whole inn…" stammered Yukiko.

"I never thought that Naoto-kun's this rich… She never says or shows anything which indicates all this…" The idol shook her head in disbelieve.

"…" The delinquent teen is lost in amazement. He opened his mouth in awe while looking at the interior of the detective's home.

"W-well, she's not the type of person who likes to brag anyway, Rise-san, and furthermore, her family's been detectives for generations and they've been assigned to many cases until now, they also have strong connections with the police and maybe the government. It's not really surprising if they're this…rich…"

Even though he, himself said that it's not really surprising, the leader couldn't really take all this surprise in that instant. He never thought that his girlfriend would be this… wealthy… from the public's eyes, his family's economical condition is top-notch too, since both of his parents owns their own business and are trying to spread their wings abroad, which results in his transfer to Inaba itself. It's just that he never suspected that she's **this** rich, just like the idol has said earlier, she never shows any indication that she belongs to a very wealthy family.

"Seeing you all here, I assume that you all have received the invitation, yes?"

The group nodded.

"By the way, where's Hanamura-sa—" Before Yakushiji can finish his sentence, the doorbell rang.

"That's him, it must be Yosuke and Teddie!"

"Oh, Hanamura-san and Teddie-san is it? I'll open the door for them."

Then the secretary walked off and opened the main door, revealing a brunette and a blonde, and just like the others, both of them looked amazed by the interior. Yosuke stammered a "whoa" from his wide-opened mouth, while Teddie, looking both amazed and excited, said, "Nao-chan's house is beary big indeed! Heehee!" Hearing another one of Teddie's bear puns, the others sweatdropped. The young leader ignored it and asked the secretary.

"By the way, how's the preparations going, Yakushiji-san?"

"Everything is going smoothly according to the plan, Naoto-sama wasn't expecting any of this. But, it's a shame that Shirogane-sama wasn't able to be present since he is abroad right now. Everything was so sudden that he couldn't make it here and on top of that, Naoto-sama always refuses to held such a party every year that we never even thought to held any of them until now… Well, if we asked her, I'm sure that she would turn down the plan, but since this is a surprise party…"

"Huh? Then, why did you held this one in the first place?" the leader asked, with a confused expression on his face.

"Well, it's Hanamura-san, Satonaka-san and Kujikawa-san's idea in the first place…"

The grey-haired teen turned his back to look for the mentioned names, only to find that both Chie and Rise are pointing towards Yosuke from both sides. The leader threw his glance towards his best friend. As for Yosuke, sensing his partner's stare, quietly moans "traitors…" and answered the stare awkwardly.

"I-I just thought that it would be fun if we held a surprise party for her! Uh… well, more or less, this is for you, too!"

Hearing the brunette's words, his partner stammered, "Wh-what does this has to do with me?!"

"Of course it has something to do with you! You're her bo—"

"Hey! There's a lot of trays lined up on the table! Will there be a feast tonight? This thing called birthday is pretty cool here! There's a lot of presents, feasts… I can't wait for tonight!" the blonde said with a mixture of amazement and eagerness in his face and voice. Yakushiji glances curiously at him, while the idol awkwardly told the secretary to just ignore the small blonde guy there.

Seeing the awkward situation, Souji raised his left hand slightly and checked on the time. The watch displayed 17:10 PM, distance: out of range. He lowered his hand and placed it on his hips, whilst saying, "I guess we should start to put on some finishing touches now…" Everyone agrees and started to prepare for the party. But, before helping on with the others, the team leader reached his bag and took out a small navy colored box from his school bag and then put it in his own pocket.

* * *

Shirogane Residence (Inaba)

Evening

* * *

"Preparations complete!"

"Things are ready here!"

"Okay, I suppose we're ready for her by now."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Then, I guess all that's left for us is to turn off the lights and wait for her return?" suggested the girl with a red headband on her head.

"Yeah… Yakushiji-san, if we may ask..?"

"Sure thing, Seta-san." After saying so, the secretary went towards the switch and turned off the lights.

"H-hey, wait! It's so dark in here, and I haven't got into my position!" exclaimed some panicked individuals. Hearing the group's difficulty, the secretary switched on the lights and after everyone's ready, he switched the lights off again.

"Hey, do you think she'll be here soon? I'm getting nervous all of a sudden…" asked a girl with a green jacket.

"Well, it's evening already, she should be here pretty soon—"

"Psst! I heard footsteps, it must be her!" cut the bleach-haired teen.

Sensing the detective's presence from the outside of the door, the grey-haired teen suddenly felt agitated. He has been trying to look for a good way to hand the item to her, but couldn't think of any until now… Then, the front door opened.

"I'm h—Huh? Why is it so dark in here? Are the lights out?" said a familiar voice with a calm demeanor which drifted into the room. But instead of heading towards the switch, the detective moved forward, to the middle of the room. There, stood a cake with a candle on the table, which is the only source of light in the room right now. When she stopped in front of the cake, the lights flashed suddenly, revealing everyone at the other side of the cake, and with her most beloved man in the middle, the group greeted her, "Happy Birthday, Naoto!!!"

Receiving such a surprise, the sleuth's face shows an obvious shocked expression. She stammers, "B-birthday? Oh… Today's… my birthday… I totally forgot about it…" She turned her back, glancing at the decorations, foods and her friends. "It's really no need for you all to do this for me…"

"What do you mean by no need? We're your friends, aren't we?" said Yosuke and Chie.

"Yeah! It's common to do these things for our friends, isn't it?" said Rise.

"Of course!" added Kanji.

"We wanted to celebrate Nao-chan's birthday together!" said Teddie, with a full smile on his face.

"It'll be fun together." said Yukiko, whose lips formed a smile now.

Then, their eyes met. Feeling that he should say something to her, the investigation team's leader opened his mouth, and said the words along with a gentle smile on his face,"…Happy birthday, Naoto…"

Hearing her friends' and her lover's words, the sleuth's expression changed, she smiled softly to her friends and said, "Thank you, everyone…"

* * *

After each of them said their happy birthday to the birthday girl, the present-giving session started, everyone brought their own gifts and handed it to her. Started from Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise and even Teddie brought something for her. At the present-giving session, Souji stayed away from them, there's a glitch in his heart that tells him not to give the present right now, so he obeyed his feelings, since it always come true.

A while later, dinner time came. Everyone lined up beside the long buffet table and picked the food on the plates. Until now, he hasn't had a chance to talk to her alone, since there's always someone talking to her, even when she's eating. But her expression look more lively than ever now, she's smiling gently while she speaks to each and every of them. Then she walked away to put her dirty plate on the dirty dishes pile. Seeing this as his chance, Souji stood up and walked into her direction.

"Naoto…"

Hearing a familiar voice calling her name from her back, she turned and blushes a little when she saw his face.

"Uhm… wh-what is it… Souji-san?"

Not sure of the answer to the question, the leader looked confused for a while and finally said, "Would you want to have a walk outside…together?" Hearing the leader's offer, the detective smiled and answered, "But of course…" Smiling to each other, two of them left the mansion quietly through the back door.

* * *

Samegawa Riverbed

Evening

* * *

After they leave the Shirogane Residence, the couple found themselves having a tour of Inaba and reached Samegawa now. They talked about various things, and he could see from her face that she's enjoying herself. Feeling delighted, Souji smiled to himself.

"Naoto, do you want to go to the riverbed? The river looks beautiful at night. Dojima-san and Nanako really liked that place."

"Really? I'd like to see it then. Let's go."

The couple climbed down the stairs to the riverbed and stood by the river.

"Wow, it really is beautiful here… You could even saw the fishes at night, the water looks so clear…" said Naoto with a mixture of amusement and happiness on her face. "By the way, Souji-san, did you refuse all my company this week because you're preparing this 'surprise party' for me?"

"Nope, I'm not the one who've been helding the surprise party. I only got the invitation."

"Then, who's sending the invitation to you?"

"Hmm? See it for yourself, here." Souji drew an envelope from one of his pocket and handed it to Naoto. The detective opened the envelope and drew a paper inside it. The greyish-blue sphere inside her eyes moved from left to right in a steady rhythm. After she finished reading, she sighed and said, "Well, I've had the inkling that it was him anyway…"

The leader, standing beside his girlfriend, suddenly remembered about the present in his other pocket. Then, he told her, "Hey Naoto, give me your right hand, and close your eyes."

"Huh? What for?" asked the detective.

"…My present for you…" replied the grey-haired boy quietly.

"O-oh! You needn't do that much for me…"

"But I've prepared it for you…"

"*sigh* Okay, you win." said the sleuth. She moved her right hand forward and then closed her eyes. She looks both curious and eager, which formed a small smile on her lips.

The leader took out the box from his pocket, but at the moment when he wanted to place the box on her hand, something struck his mind. The dream he had last night… He suddenly remembered it all, he recall that he felt that it's a nice dream this morning, well, it's… nice indeed, but he can't help himself but to blush when he remembers his dream.

His dream is pretty close to the reality now, it's as if the dream is showing his future for today, although not entirely. In his dream, he's with her, too. They're in Samegawa Riverbed, and it's her birthday, and they're talking to each other, enjoying each other's company. Then he saw her smiled, the sweetest smile he has ever seen in his life, her smile is a bit awkward, but she looked so happy with it. And then, before she opened her eyes with her smile, he… kissed her.

Remembering his dream, his cheeks blushed heavily. And he could feel his heart beats uncontrollably fast. Until he heard his girlfriend asks him, still with her eyes closed, "Souji-san?" Hearing his name being called, he took out the content of the box and put it into his hand. He grabbed her hand gently and put it down. He didn't know what had gotten into his mind, but at the moment he realized what've happened, he found that his lips are already on hers. And on their watch was displayed, distance: 0 meter.

At first, he could feel that her lips are trembling slightly, but when he realizes that and was about to hold back, he suddenly felt her hands on his shoulder and returned the kiss gently.

Both of them blushed heavily, Naoto touches her lips with her fingertips in disbelieve of what have just happened, and when their eyes met, they blushed even more. Then, a voice broke the awkward silence, "I-is th-this what you meant by… p-present??" When she braces herself to ask him the question, her face reddened even more. She wasn't able to look at him in the eye, she stares to the ground, until she saw something was hanging around her neck and sparkling on her breast. She touches the pendant and put it in her hand.

"Nope, that one's the real present." said the grey-haired teen.

She stammered, "A-a silver key… I can't receive such an expensive gift from you!"

"Please don't worry about the price, you wouldn't even expect it's price anyway, more over, I… made it myself…"

"You made this?"

"Yeah, not just myself to be precise, I got Kanji-kun and Rise-san helping me out in the first steps. And I've got a reason of it's shape."

"So that's why… and what's with a key?" The detective's face beamed with curiosity.

The leader tried to explain, but while trying to do so, his face reddened. "I-it's because… You're… the key to my heart… In the past, I also tend to distance myself from others, but when I got transferred here to Inaba, all of you started to open up my heart. But, out of all of them, you are the one who saw the real me, who understood me more than anyone, who cared for me and… the one who I…loved most dearly, the one who've fully unlocked my heart… I know this sounded cliché, but… That's how I really feel for you, Nao—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a pair of hand is wrapped tightly around his neck. He could hear her said, "D-don't be silly, you're- you're the one who have been the key of my heart! You're the one who saw the real me, the one who's always there for me, the only person who gave my every existence a meaning… The one who saw me, as who I really am, not as a tool, not as woman or even a detective, I'm just a Naoto for you… You're the one who taught me to trust others and to… love someone dearly, you're the one who've unlocked my heart… Souji-san…"

"I suppose we're each others' key for our hearts then…"

When she released her hands from his neck, he could see her smile. The sweetest smile he ever saw in his life, and even sweeter than the one he saw in his dreams.

"Oh, and don't forget the box, Naoto." said the leader as he put the small navy box on her hand, giving her the box and a sincere smile.

_And of all people, you're the one who gave me the strongest bond which I thought would be absent in my whole life… It's…our love for each other. _

* * *

Meanwhile…

Shirogane Residence

* * *

"Hey, by the way, I can't find Souji-kun and Naoto-kun everywhere!" said Chie.

"Oh, I'm sure they're together somewhere…" answered Yukiko.

"That's why I said this is for him too, right?" said the brunette.

"Beary right!" *munch**munch*

The others let out a soft laugh and continue on to their feast.

* * *

Dojima Residence

Souji's Room

* * *

On the work table, a silver box sat forgotten… In the label on top of the box was written:

"Making Silver Accessories on Your Own!"

Beginner Kit

While on the price tag was written:

¥15.000 *scratch*

Special price : ¥5.000.

* * *

**Author's Note :**

Wonder why, but I always tend to feel horrified of my own story… and I felt like I've made a whole lot of OOCs in here… I really need your opinions about this story, please tell me what you all think about this story in the reviews! I appreciate all kinds of reviews (but please, no sarcasm or violence in reviewing!) I also have an idea about writing this story in Naoto's point of view in the next chapter, but it all depends on the reviews I get from you all. So please give me your honest opinions. Thank you for reading! And feel free to drop reviews anytime!


	3. Her Side, Part 1

**Author's Notes: **First of all, I'm sorry for taking such a long time to update. Recently my laptop was infected by a weird virus and it prevents me from writing. But well, it's okay now. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well…

Disclaimer: Shin Megami Tensei along with the Persona Series, are all Atlus'…

* * *

~Single Key of Two Hearts~

:o: Her Side :o:

_I've never thought that… everything will turn out this way… That meeting them would change me so much. They taught me how to have faith in others, as to how it'd feel to have friends… But, I do realize, the one who changed me most, the one who changed me from my every core is… __**him.**__ He always made me feel that I'm… I'm precious, I'm needed, but unlike the others, he never saw me as a tool, which would be thrown away when my usefulness has dried up…He always sees me as who I really am… It's like, we… needed each other… He needs me, and I need him. And most importantly, he's the one who taught me the most important thing which no one else can teach me. Something that has became an answer to my every existence, which made the pain I endure all this time become worthwhile… He taught me how to… love someone dearly…_

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shirogane Residence (Inaba)

Evening

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm home." The detective said while opening the front door of her house.

"Ah, welcome home, Naoto-sama."

"Thank you, Yakushiji-san."

"Dinner will be ready soon, Naoto-sama."

"Oh, sure, I'll eat dinner after I take a shower first."

After saying so, the detective walked the stairs and get into her room. Her room was a blue-centric one, with some neutral colors of the property. She put her favorite hat on her study desk and opened her wardrobe to draw some clean clothes. Before entering the bathroom, she unbuttoned her coat, revealing her pale, white skin. Just when she takes a step to head to the bathroom, she'd just realized the grip of the watch on her left wrist. In the watch was displayed:

----------------------------

18.10 PM

Distance: Out of reach

----------------------------

She returned to her study desk, releasing watch from her left wrist and put it on the table. She takes a very good care of the watch, just like every item in her possession, even so, the watch always gets an extra treatment from her than the other items. Even though the watch is water-proofed, she wouldn't risk it to be wet. And other than those times, the watch was surely resting around her left wrist. Well, the reason of all that are obvious enough, it is the watch she made by herself and more over, the watch has a clone, which is now resting around the wrist of her most beloved person on earth. She smiled while giving the watch a last glance on her table, then proceeded into the bathroom for a shower.

* * *

After taking a shower, the detective took her digital handmade watch from her desk and put it back on her left wrist. She left her room, taking the steps of the grand circular stair, heading towards the dining room. By the time she reached the dining room, her grandfather's secretary, Yakushiji, along with her dinner, a sushi set, has been waiting for her.

Giving a glance towards the dining table, the sleuth pulled one of the chairs and sat on it. She drew a clean plate and a pair of chopsticks, before she took some pieces of the sushi, she asked the secretary.

"Is there anything special occurring today? It's unusual for us to have such a dinner…"

"No, there's nothing special. By the way, Naoto-sama, how's Shirogane-sama?" The secretary asked the sleuth with a formal tone in his voice.

"Oh, you mean grandpa… Really, Yakushiji-san, you should've stopped addressing me and grandpa so formally, I believe grandpa had told you this several times too… As for grandpa, I believe that he must've been on the plane by now, on his way to America… By the way, Yakushiji-san, have you eaten your dinner yet? The detective asked curiously with a pair of chopsticks lingering in her grip.

"Well… As the matter of truth, I haven't—"

"You're more than welcome to join me, then." The sleuth said swiftly. Feeling that more resistances will be coming from the secretary, the young sleuth continued on. "And, once again, as what I and grandpa have ever said to you, Yakushiji-san, please stop being so modest around us, moreover, I don't think I can finish all of this by myself. I believe it'll be a shame to discard this, won't it?

After hearing the detective's statement, the secretary understood that further resistance will be futile. He sighed, then pulled a chair in front of the sleuth and sat on it. He took a clean plate and a pair of chopsticks.

"Well then, let's eat."

After saying so, the youth glanced at her dinner and started to pick some of them to her plate. She picked some kani roll, maki roll, unagi, tuna maki and not to be forgotten, her favorite california roll. As she took her favorite sushi, her lips formed a soft smile. Then she took some wasabi and poured some soyu before she ate her dinner. Soon after the sleuth finished taking the sushi, the secretary took some pieces to his own plate as well. When the secretary took a bite of a california roll, he was surprised. In his opinion, the taste was incredibly good, but at the same time, he could hear the youth in front of him muttered: "**His** california rolls are still the best…" Hearing that, the secretary has an inkling of who might the detective meant, on his reflexes, he said, "Seta-san, is it?"

"H-huh? Wh-what?" The youth's eyes widened when she heard the name, obviously flustered.

"Oh, forgive my rudeness, it's just that I heard that Seta-san is quite a cook."

"W-well, it's true… But, how could you know that?"

"Information spreads fast nowadays, Naoto-sama, especially in a small town like this. And now, I think almost everyone knew about his talent in cooking as much as they knew about his relationship with y—"

Having an idea about what might the secretary'll say, the blue-haired girl stood up suddenly and cut her grandpa's secretary's unfinished words, "Th-Thank you for the meal!" Just after she said that, she took her dirty plate and put it into the sink in her kitchen. Before she climbed the stair, the detective said, "G-Good night, Yakushiji-san" without even looking at him, trying as hard as she could to hide the crimson shades on her cheeks.

* * *

"_W-what was that?! I didn't know that everyone knew about… Ugh! No wonder grandpa asked me about those things earlier…He suddenly asked me whether I'd found someone who's special and very important to me. As he asked me that question, I can feel heat rising to my cheek. I lowered my visor and look down, as an attempt of hiding the blush on my cheeks. And at last, I braced myself to answer my grandfather with a little squeak of "yes". _The detective sighed as she thought of the incident which occurred when she stayed with her grandpa for the weekend. Then, she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and returned to her bedroom to rest herself on her bed.

As she rested herself on her bed, she stares blankly at her room's ceiling, memories of the past she spend with him rushed into her mind. She recalled meeting him for the first time at Tatsumi Textiles, when she investigated the murder case and to warn Kanji Tatsumi, whom she believed will be the next victim since he had appeared in the local TV news. She sighed and her lips formed a soft smile, _"At that time, I've already had an inkling that they're connected with the case, and when I thought of it now, I guess I already had an interest for them… well, __**him.**__" _Memories kept on flowing in her mind, her transfer to Yasogami High, her shadow, her persona, and also the starting point between them, the mysterious challenge card from the so-called Phantom Thief, _"At first, I got myself transferred to solve the case with a better approach, but then, I found myself stuck with all of them, to the Port Island, the club… _The youth chuckled when she remembered the events happening in Escapade club in Port Island, how the idol and one of her senpai got drunk just because of the atmosphere there which results in the crazy events going on there. But… _"When I asked them about their connection to the case, Yukiko-senpai and Rise-san told me something about the TV world and Personas… Of course I didn't believe them, but when I think of it now, it will be ridiculous either way, whether I__'d__ believe them, or not. I remember seeing Yosuke-senpai and Chie-senpai's faces lose some color when they said it, while I sense that senpai's face glitches a bit, but still, who'll believe that kind of thing if you didn't actually experience it yourself?"_

The sleuth thought to herself while turning her body to face the wall beside her bed, reminiscing the time when she finally understood the group's activity, _"That time, I know that I'm putting my life on the line by using myself as bait. I know I shouldn't have trusted anybody because of my job as a detective, but I wonder why, even at that time, I believed that they will come to save me, just like they'd saved everyone else, or maybe when I thought of it now, it's because of the one who seems to be their leader, the one who've piqued my interest. As a detective, I always know how to read someone, but nevertheless, he is the first one who I've failed to read. I ended up in some sort of an army base, deep down I felt anxious for some reason, and it got even worse when someone came to me. She looked a lot like me, and started to state some things which I know was right, but I kept rejecting those things, because I hate to be weak, and I know if I accepted those things and admitted it, everyone will look down on me. So I rejected everything she said, and just when I felt enough of her, they came. I look at them, and there __**he**__ stood in the front line, with a cautious stance. Seeing them coming, I said that I'll go back with them, but then it all began__ from there__. The girl, who was my shadow self started to act in a childish gesture and cried while begging me not to leave. I resisted, I really wanted to leave the place as soon as I can, as I'm feeling __even __worse though__ in the same time,__ sensed a familiarity about the place. Things developed to the direction which I despised the most, my shadow started to reveal my deepest secret, and before I could even stop her, I yelled at her, with my concealed pitch of voice which I've never used for years. I didn't really remember much after that, but then, I felt that it's time for me to face my self, my true self, the one I've locked up inside me for so long, and so I did, and they saw everything."_

As the detective reminisced about that part, her eyebrows furrowed, she never really liked the place, or even the reality that her shadow really existed inside her. But now, she had accepted it, and even felt a little grateful of it, because if it's not because of those events, maybe things wouldn't be as it is now. But then, as more memories flowed in her mind, her lips formed a wider smile than before. _"Yeah, it's those time, the time I spend together with him… He just came to me one day and handed me a white card, saying that he received it from someone who said that I would understand when I saw the card, the challenge from the so-called Phantom Thief which turned out to be an attempt by Yakushiji-san and my grandpa to remind me of my original reason to become a detective. At first, I didn't want to make involve him in this, but he offered to help me out, and wonder why, I can't really refuse__ his offer__, so I said "yes" to him. We worked side by side to solve the challenge from the phantom thief, and also talked about various things. When I'm around him, I always tend to say something about myself, the topic which I always stayed away from, he __also __ever told me that he's glad that I'm a girl, which surprised me a lot, since no one ever told me that thing. But then I remembered that I ever asked him about his childhood, and that I wished that I could see him at those time. His reaction will never be erased from my m__emory__,__ as__ he suddenly looked surprised, as if nobody beside me has ever asked him. It was that time when I saw his sincere smile for the first time, the different kind of smile that he usually shows to everyone__ and told me more about himself__. Until one day, we encountered the phantom thief himself at the shrine… Things unfolded too fast that day, he tried to protect me, my emotion control broke down, and he… __revealed his feelings for __me..."_

In the midst of her thoughts, the watch on her left wrist beeped. She raised her wrist and threw a glance to see the watch, which displayed:

----------------------------

00.00 AM

Distance: Out of reach

----------------------------

The sleuth raised her eyebrows, indicating that she didn't realize the flow of time. As detective glanced at the watch, she thought, _"I guess I'll spend my time with him tomorrow, it's been quite a while…"_ As the words in her thought crossed her mind, the youth fell into her slumber with a soft smile on her lips.

* * *

When the detective came to her conciousness, all that she could see was darkness, and nothingness. She tried to look around, but her efforts were futile, she couldn't see anything. She tried to raise her hands, only to see the same darkness and not even a glimpse of her own hand. The girl started to feel anxious, and afraid, but something urged her to move forward in the midst of the darkness. She walked and walked trying to find something, after a while, she started to run, her body started to feel heavy, as if she's been running in water. When fatigue almost got the hold of her, she suddenly saw something, a small light.

She made her way to reach out for the light ahead, at first, she walked, but then she started to run. In the dark and nothingness, there're several times when she was tripped over by something, but she didn't even bother to look at her wound, she just keep on running without turning her eyes from the light, and then, she saw it, the shining object she's been striving for in the darkness. It's a door. The door was huge, like the ones in the grand castles, and it radiates blue lights around it, but the door has no doorknob or anything else, it only radiates light. She could feel that something was behind the door, something which would get rid of the darkness around her. The blue-haired girl tried to open the door, she extended her right hand and tried to push it, but the door won't budge. As she tried another attempt to open it, she felt even more anxious, and frightened, she desperately tried to open it, but her efforts were in vain. She fell to her knees and looked up to the grand door in front of her.

* * *

She woke up with a slight jump, she could feel herself breathing heavily. She remembered that she had a dream, but as the youth felt sunlight pouring rapidly into her room, she look at the watch which wraps her left wrist. The watch displayed:

------------------------------------

07:30 AM

Distance: Out of reach

------------------------------------

"Oh, darn it, I'm going to be late!" the sleuth said as she rose from her bed and prepared herself to head for school.

* * *

Yasogami High School

Class 1-1

Afternoon

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Naoto-kun… Naoto-kun? Hey! Naoto-kun? Did you hear me??"

"H-huh?"

The sleuth returned to the real world and realized that she had been daydreaming for the whole class. She looked around, and realized that her class was empty, except for her and the girl in front of her.

"Naoto-kun! Everyone else has left to change for the PE class!"

"Oh, yes, I-I'll go right away."

She searched for her PE uniform which she placed in her desk's drawer and drew it out. The youth walked along the corridor and head to change her uniform. As she walked towards the field, she thought to herself, _"What was that dream last night? Ugh! Forget it, Naoto, brace yourself, it's just a random weird dream, it doesn't have any meaning whatsoever! Wait, by the way… I haven't seen any of them today, but well, I guess I'll meet him after school."_ Just after she thought of meeting him after school, her heart lightened.

* * *

Yasogami High School

After School

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Ding-dong*

"Phew, at last it's over…" The youth said to herself as she stood up and packed her belongings into her bag. She hasn't being able to concentrate on her lessons today, since some part of her were still giving her dream some thoughts, which she had casted away for many times, in the end, she spent her time by thinking about her plan this afternoon, which is now.

"Wait, Shirogane-san!"

Hearing her name being called, the high school detective turned around and replied, "Yes, Ms. Kashiwagi?"

"Help me to bring all this papers to the faculty office!" Ms. Kashiwagi said with a wicked smirk on her face.

Just after Ms. Kashiwagi asked the detective to bring all those papers, she could hear the entire class whispering.

"What? She asked Naoto-kun do bring it all? I'd say that we needed at least two guys to take 'em all at once!" the student behind her whispered.

"Did she do that on purpose?"

"Hey, did you think that she was being jealous of Naoto-kun because of the beauty pageant?"

"What?! Oh, man! Even if Naoto-kun weren't participating, I doubt she'll earn even a single vote!"

"Well, if the contestants themselves can vote I'd say she'll get a vote... from herself."

"Or maybe she can cross-voted each other with Hanako!"

Hearing her classmates whispering here and there, Naoto sighed, she stepped forward, knowing that it's no use to resist, she wouldn't risk herself to get a detention she nearly got this morning just by disobeying this weird teacher and get all her plan for the afternoon ruined. Before she reached the teacher's desk, a student asked, "Miss! Is it alright for me to help Naoto-kun to bring the papers?"

"What?! I only ask for Shirogane-san and not you!" The teacher answered annoyingly.

"Thank you for your offer, but I'm sure I'll be perfectly fine by myself." The detective answered calmly.

"What are you waiting for now? Bring it to faculty office now!" The teacher said while walking out of the class and slammed the door back.

Naoto picked all the papers up in one try, and well, it indeed was heavy, but she managed to carry it on her own. When she reached her class' entrance, one of her classmates opened the door for her. She walked out of the class while saying "Thank you" to her classmate and head to the faculty office. On her way, she can still hear her classmates gossiping loudly from her class.

"See? She really did that on purpose to Naoto-kun!"

"Ugh! Does she even own a mirror? I mean, a teacher holding a grudge against her student?!"

"Yeah, and over the beauty pageant… How immature can grownups be?"

Hearing her classmates gossiping each other, the young detective sighed, and proceeded to the faculty office.

* * *

"Ms. Kashiwagi, I'll put the papers here." The detective said while putting the papers on the teacher's desk.

"Wait! Who told you to put it there?! I wanted to mark my class' test papers now! Put inside the drawer over there!" The teacher answered her with an annoying tone in her voice.

Naoto sighed, just when she thought that she won't be able to do anything this afternoon, someone came into the faculty office and saw her carrying a huge stack of papers on her own.

"Shirogane-san? What are you doing?" Mr. Kondo asked her with curiosity in his voice.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kondo. Well, Ms. Kashiwagi asked me to put all this papers into the drawer and…"

"What? She asked you to do this on your own? Thanks for your help Shirogane-san, I'll take care of this from here."

"But, Mr. Kondo…"

"Nah, it's okay! It's not really a student's job to organize the papers, usually teachers do it on their own, you can just go home now." The PE teacher told her.

"Well then, thank you very much, Mr. Kondo." The detective said and head to the exit. Even though when she was walking past the office, she can feel that Ms. Kashiwagi was staring at her, but not wanting to try her luck, she decided not to meet her gaze and leave the office.

Just when she left the office, she saw a familiar figure coming down from the stair, heading to the first year class corridor, in her reflex, the sleuth called out, "Senpai!"

The senpai turned his back, facing her, while she walked swiftly towards him. When she finally reached him, her senpai smiled and greeted her, "Hey, Naoto…"

"Umm… Souji-san… Can you spare some time for me today? I… I'd like to go somewhere with you…" She stares at the hallway floor while asking the question, too shy to look at him in the eye, since most of the time, it's her senpai which asked her out.

After she asked him, the sleuth waited for his answer. Usually, the grey-haired boy will say yes and accompany her, but today, she felt that he took a while to answer, which is usually a bad omen.

"I-I'm sorry Naoto, I have something I must take care of today, did you mind if I accompany you some other time? I'm really sorry…" As he said the words, he shook his head and his expression indeed shows that he's very sorry to say that.

The detective, after hearing her senpai's words, lifted her head and shook her head too. "Oh, no, no… It's okay… You don't need to apologize for that, I'm not forcing you or anything… Ummm, next time then!" After saying those words, the detective walked away while waving her hand and smiled softly. The leader waved his hand back at her and saw her leaving by the school gate.

On her way back from school she started to think, _"Well, why must my bad feelings always come true? I guess I'll just head to the hill myself…"_ Just when she thought about going to the hill, she realized that her she wasn't holding anything in her hands, probably because of the slight pain which the papers had given them, making them feel heavy enough as if she'd been carrying her bag. _"Darn it! I forgot to take my bag from the class! I guess I was too absorbed in what he said… Oh, well…"_

Intending to retrieve her school bag, the detective turned around and walked back into the direction of her school, but at the time she almost reached the school gate, she could see three familiar figures walking ahead of her from the school ground. Her eyes fixed on the figures ahead of her, whilst at the same time thoughts started to pour in her mind.

"_Kanji-kun, Rise-san and… Souji-san? B-but he said that…"_ Loss in words, the youth thought as she shook her head in disbelief.

-To be continued-

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**Author's Notes: **Well, how is it? I think I made her reminisce too much… But I really hope I get Naoto's feelings and personality… Please tell me whether I've made any OOC in here… Also, please forgive if I've done any mistakes in grammar or even choice of words… One more thing, did the paragraphs were too long? I'm just wondering that maybe it made the readers experience some difficulty in reading… (If it's so, I can try to fix it in the next chapters) And as usual, reviews please…


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